A passionate cook and foodie, I love spending time in my kitchen..... Listed here are a series of my tried and tested recipes learnt from family and elsewhere. They are very easy to do and simple with ingredients readily available at any kitchen......

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Saturday, 2 September 2017

SUJI UPMA

Isn't the festive fervour still going on among different communities world wide? I always doubt my observation power and fail to keep track of all of them, neither can any one of us satisfy all around at a time ..... at least I am not able to. I think there is a clearcut understanding among us... my co-workers who are working in coordination to cater to different kinds of demands, needs, emotions or sentiments of the readers. Even few months back I did not know that a food post can represent so many things and it is important to take care of that.... Oh God ! isn't that a torture on a free willed person like me? It is not so that I have learnt every inch of the trade, my grey matter will not allow me to... but I think I have grown wise a bit. That is little better from my stupid brother who wants mutton, chicken, hilsa everyday from me.... I love the Kimi Raikkonen fan a lot but cannot cater to his demands always. There will be some authentic Bengali fish, mutton, chicken prior to Durga Pooja.... I do not wish to start with them so early and smell stinkingly regional..... more because I have made friends worldwide beyond region, boundaries and whatever. My blog will remain essentially Indian .... I am already unhappy with the pictures of microwave yogurt-chocolate cups.... not with the taste though.... yet some of my ace photographer girl friends went and showed some love to it... I have hope yeah... in this trade, hihi. Anyway, those who are trying to drag me into that cocooned shell that I had been in some ten years back.... I can arrange for you some sessions with my elder son who as a 10-12 year boy told why is it so difficult to accept aunty to have a vegetarian meal at community lunches just for four days, we can always have non vegetarian at home .... I feel so ashamed looking back at that me .... if we can fight among ourselves on such trivial issues, we have no right to blame others on Gurkha Land issues... I remember we had a paper on Boro Land Movement during our masters course and how our professor beautifully taught us about it going beyond text books.... I myself have heard from my own extended family how the innocent Boro clan were exploited... so much so that some from my family could employ them for a whole day work at a meagre amount of five rupees. However, I am not equipped with enough research and knowledge to say who is right or who is wrong. I wish to say for each separatist movement in the country, each one of us are to be blamed. Then there is one junior at home... if I call him weird there is enough reason... I wonder if he has any interest in anything in the world except for his laptop and food, non vegetarian of course. The two vegetarian items he loves are paneer and aloo. Then there is a senior at home who told his son at a tender age of ten... you know son... fish and chicken steak is a cheat, have beef steak... the mother shed silent tears then. This island is too expensive for us to stay after retirement neither we have applied for a permanent residency.... India may not allow us .... hahaha... shall we then live in a tent in a no-man's land?

I will go Indian today, a more or less healthy, simple breakfast fair with such ingredients that anyone can enjoy if they are on a healthy diet plan... a big bowl of SUJI UPMA. Many years back it was confined to a particular part of India, then we all saw its popularity at Bengali homes too. At our home , the mother loved dosa, idly, upma and uttapam. She learnt doing upma and perhaps idly at times. Back then they were not so much of a favourite with me like chicken... mutton or fish kabiraji cutlet, but I had to go to Madras Tiffin at Shyambazaar atleast for once in a month for the mother... a masala dosa as big as the width of my nose.... a nose that loved the smell of an egg- mutton roll just the opposite side of the road.... but then there is a thirty years gap between me and my son... who has his own, strong opinions and a father who said the son is to be considered a part of the decision making process and should not be made a mere pawn. I must say I love idly, upma and ragi puttu these days and so much excited to take my mani to the excellent joints for these items when she comes next.... I love the MTR chain. The husband loves upma which he had first after he joined ship, the son will not touch... he would take bread with cheese slice and eggs on such days. This upma thing I love to have the homemade one ... a little drier version than the restaurant ones with peanuts, cashew nuts and any available vegetables at home like carrots, cauliflower, green peas, potato.... I love to add a bit of ghee too in it.... I do not know how authentic my way is... my friends from particular regions can say.... but I am absolutely ok if my friends invite me over zucchini aloo posto.... just that there has to be a jirey bata diye patla macher jhol, peyaj diye mushurir dal, and a big bowl of salad or raita .... yes I love salads if they are modified as per my taste and raita too ..... just that I have stopped getting oats for two reasons.... I will finally end up preparing ladoo with them with ghee and jaggery.... secondly, Indian bodies are best suited to Indian ingredients / food...... I may not have a fabulous body like Rujuta Diwekar but I have faith in what she preaches. I prepare upma with either semolina or broken wheat and a happy weekend is sharing my way of Suji / Semolina Upma done with cashew nuts, peanuts and available vegetables with you all.

We have already washed the carrot pieces and rubbed with little salt and turmeric, we will add it to the wok, stir and cook for a minute or two.

Add all of the semolina and keep roasting until they turn light brown. Add some salt and stir for a minute. We will add water little by little with the left hand, while stirring constantly with our right one. If you want your upma little dry and crumbly, you cannot add all water at a time, we have to have little more patience for that.

Add the green peas and chopped green chillies now, add little water and keep stirring and cooking for some more time. Add the lemon juice and a table spoon of ghee, stir well and ahh its done.

We will have this yummy bowl of SUJI UPMA with tea or coffee, I have it for my lunch too.... it has to be served hot always.

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About Me

Cooking is a passion for me.I think I am yet to learn a lot in this area. I believe we should always pursue our passion, irrespective whether we have expertise in that arena or not.Life to me is being positive. Music is the fodder to my soul. I love to read and travel. Love being amidst nature, enjoy its serenity.